Leading & Motivating by Brian Tracy

*Note from Keith:

Brian Tracy is an absolute living legend.  Brian’s goal is to help you achieve your personal and business goals faster and easier than you ever imagined.  His exciting talks and seminars on Leadership, Selling, Self-Esteem, Goals, Strategy, Creativity and Success Psychology bring about immediate changes and long-term results, and you can bet his articles will inspire the same in YOU to bring about huge, long-term success.

Here is an article from Brian Tracy that reinforces the principles in the Make-You-Happy Management System.

Leading and Motivating

By Brian Tracy

It’s been said that Leadership is not what you do, but who you are.  This, however, is only partially true.  Leadership is very much who you are, but it cannot be divorced from what you do.  Who you are represents the inner person, and what you do represents the outer person.  Each is dependent on the other for maximum effectiveness.

The starting point of motivational leadership is to begin seeing yourself as a role model, seeing yourself as an example to others.  A key characteristic of leaders is that they set high standards of accountability for themselves and for their behaviors.  They assume that other are watching them and then setting their own standards by what they do.  In business, there are several kinds of power.  Two of these are position power and ascribed power.

Position power is the power that comes with a job title or position in any organization. If you become a manager in a company, you automatically have certain powers and privileges that go along with your rank.  You can order people about and make certain decisions.  You can be a leader whether or not anyone likes you.

Ascribed power is the power you gain because of the kind of person you are.  In every organization, there are people who are inordinately influential and looked up to by others, even though their positions may not be high up on the organizational chart.  These are the men and women who are genuine leaders because of the quality of the people they have become, because of their characters and their personalities.

Over the years, we have been led to believe that leaders are those who stride boldly about, exude power and confidence, tive orders for others to carry out.  However, that is old school.  The leader of today is the one who asks questions, listens carefully, plans diligently and then builds consensus among all those who are necessary for achieving the goals.  The leader does not try to do it by himself or herself.  The leader gets things done by helping others to do them.

This brings us to five of the qualities that you already have to a certain degree and that you can develop further to stand out from the people around you in a very short period of time.

The first quality is vision.

This is the one single quality that, more than anything separates leaders from followers.  Leaders have vision.  Followers do not. Leaders have the ability to stand back and see the big picture.  Followers are caught up in day-to-day activities.  Leaders have developed the ability to fix their eyes on the horizon and see greater possibilities.  Followers are those whose eyes are fixed on the ground in front of them and who are so busy that they seldom look at themselves and their activities in a larger context.

The most motivational vision you can have for yourself and others is to “Be the best!”  Many people don’t yet realize that excellent performance in serving other people is an absolute basic essential for survival in the economy of the future.  Many individuals and companies still adhere to the idea that as long as they are no worse than anyone else, they can remain in business.  That is just plain silly!  It is prehistoric thinking.  We are now in the age of excellence.  Customers assume that they will get excellent quality, and if they don’t, they will go to your competitors so fast, people’s heads will spin.

The second quality, which is perhaps the single most respected quality of leaders, is integrity.

Integrity is complete, unflinching honesty with regard to everything that you say and do.  Integrity underlies all the other qualities.  Your measure of integrity is determined by how honest you are in the critical areas of your life.

Integrity means this: When someone asks you at the end of the day, “Did you do your very best?” you can look him in the eye and say, “Yes!”  Integrity means this: When someone asks you if you could’ve done better, you can honestly say, “No, I did everything I possibly could.”

Integrity means that you, as a leader, admit your shortcomings.  It means that you work to develop your strengths and compensate for your weaknesses.  Integrity means that you tell the truth, and that you live the truth in everything that you do and in all your relationships.  Integrity means that you deal straightforwardly with people and situations and that you do not compromise what you believe to be true.

The third quality is courage.

It is the chief distinguishing characteristic of the true leader.  It is almost always visible in the leader’s words and actions.  It is absolutely indispensable to success, happiness and the ability to motivate other people to be the best they can be.

In a way, it is easy to develop a big vision for yourself and for the person you want to be.  It is easy to commit yourself to living with complete integrity.  But it requires incredible courage to follow through on your vision and on your commitments.  You see, as soon as you set a high goal or standard for yourself, you will run into all kinds of difficulties and setbacks.  You will be surrounded by temptations to compromise your values and your vision.  You will feel an almost irresistible urge to “get along by going along.”  Your desire to earn the respect and cooperation of others can easily lead to the abandonment of your principles, and here is where courage comes in.

The forth quality of motivational leadership is realism.

Realism is a form of intellectual honesty.  The realist insists upon seeing the world as it really is, not as he wishes it were.  This objectivity, this refusal to engage in self-delusion, is a mark of the true leader.

Those who exhibit the quality of realism do not trust to luck, hope for miracles, pray for exceptions to basic business principles, expect rewards without working or hope that problems will go away by themselves.  These all are examples of self-delusion, of living in a fantasyland.

The motivational leader insists on seeing things exactly as they are and encourages others to look at life the same way. As a motivational leader, you get the facts, whatever they are.  You deal with people honestly and tell them exactly what you perceive to be the truth.  This doesn’t mean that you will always be right, but you will always be expressing the truth in the best way you know how.

The fifth quality of motivational leadership is responsibility.

This is perhaps the hardest of all to develop.  The acceptance of responsibility means that, as Harry Truman said, “The buck stops here.”

The game of life is very competitive.  Sometimes, great success and great failure are separated by a very small distance.  In watching the playoffs in basketball, baseball, and football, we see htat the winner can be decided by a single point, and that single point can rest on a single action or inaction, on that part of a single team member at a critical part of the game.

Life is very much like competitive sports.  Very small things that you do, or don’t do, can either give you the edge that leads to victory or take away your edge at the critical moment.  This principle is especially true with regard to accepting responsibility for yourself and for everything that happens to you.

You become a motivational leader by motivating yourself.  And you motivate yourself by striving toward excellence, by committing yourself to becoming everything you are capable of becoming.  You motivate yourself by throwing your whole heart into doing your job in an excellent fashion.  You motivate yourself and others by continually looking for ways to help others to improve their lives and achieve their goals.  You become a motivational leader by becoming the kind of person others want to get behind and support in every way.

Your main job is to take complete control of your personal evolution and become a leader by becoming the kind of person others want to get behind and support in every way.

Brian Tracy is legendary in the fields of Management, Leadership, and Sales.  He has produced more than 300 audio/video programs and has written over 40 books.  www.BrianTracy.com

Ya Sure…George S. Patton Was a Make-You-Happy Leader

Ya Sure…George S. Patton Was a Make-You-Happy Leader

by Keith Lee

Managers in the Make-You-Happy Management System are coaches, cheerleaders, facilitators, and nurturers of champions, rather than cops, referees, and nay-sayers.

This leadership principle is from the magazine “Armchair General” available from Armchair General, LLC 386-246-3456.  Let’s learn about management from Old Blood & Guts, George S. Patton, America’s greatest World War II battle commander.

General George S. Patton Jr. studied – and practiced – leadership all his life.  What “Old Blood & Guts” left behind is a priceless leadership legacy containing a wealth of material for today’s military and business executives.

Providing “Mission-Type” Orders

An organization benefits from both the individual and collective intelligence and experience of its members.  Too often, leaders attempt to provide a solution without tapping into the wisdom and abilities of those in the command structure.  Patton’s rapid, slashing, war of maneuver campaigns in World War II were propelled by issuing “mission-type” orders – assigning broad objectives and letting subordinates work out the details.

He advised, “Never tell people how to do things.  Tell them what to do and they will astonish you with their ingenuity.”

The Make-You-Happy Management System was created out of my frustration in having no time for myself, no time to work on the important things in my business because I was babysitting employees and making every King Solomon decision in the company.

In order to alleviate this you need to issue “mission-type” orders:  Assign broad objectives and let subordinates work out the details.  You’ll be amazed at the results and the freedom you achieve.

Demand Discipline

Discipline is the bedrock characteristic of any successful military unit or corporation.  Commanders and executives who want to win must teach it to subordinates and then demand that they act accordingly.  The fiery and headstrong Patton may have suffered lapses in regulating his own behavior from time to time, but he always understood that the controlled actions of his units remained the key to battlefield success.  “You cannot be disciplined in great things and undisciplined in small things,” said Patton.  “There is only one sort of discipline – perfect discipline.”

As this article suggests Patton may have suffered lapses in his own behavior in this regard, but we can still learn from this principle.

While I’m not suggesting peeling potatoes or forcing your Team to run miles when they don’t perform, I think that it is absolutely imperative that your Team understands your core beliefs and they understand that those core beliefs are unwavering.

Here’s an example.  Everyone in our company understands that the minimum level of Customer Service that is acceptable is “truly appreciative service.”  And while we may fail at this at times in the eyes of our Client, everyone understands that indifferent, or heaven forbid anything approaching rude service means immediate termination of employment.

Another example is seen in our company values.  Again, everyone understands that one of our values is, “We will do nothing illegal or unethical.”  If someone decides to consciously do something illegal or unethical they will be dismissed.

Take Timely Action

Perhaps because they fear failure, commanders and business leaders often become timid in their decision making, delaying final orders until the plan in “perfect.”  Patton, however, recognized that seizing the unforgiving moment is vastly more important to success than postponing an action until the ideal plan is devised – too late to produce positive results.  Remember Patton’s admonition, “A good plan executed now is better than a perfect plan executed next week.”

One of the basic tenants of Make-You-Happy Management is empowering your Team to make decisions.  You’ll obviously want to give some guidelines concerning those decisions, but as you and your Team understands the system and each other, those guidelines can be very broad.

For instance, while using our L.E.A.R system to take care of upset Customers, after finding out what the Customer wants to make them happy, the guideline for our front line Team member is unless it’s NUTS, do it!”

Instill Self-Confidence

Self-confidence on the battlefield of in the boardroom is crucial for success.  Patton created within his Third US Army a tradition of winning and a corresponding leadership climate that let his Soldiers know they were second to none.  The proudly exclaimed, oft-heard cry of the Third Army Vets, “I fought with Patton!” testifies to his ability to encourage and instill faith in oneself.  Patton wrote, “The most vital quality a Soldier can possess is self-confidence; utter complete and bumptious.”

When you empower your Team to make decisions and take care of Customers, they will have the confidence they need to create Happy Customers.

But what happens when your Team Member makes a bad decision?  In the Make-You-Happy Management System the first thing to do is look at your systems to make sure they are not getting in the way of making a better decision.

Once you find the system is OK, then you need to RETRAIN and not beat up the Team Member.  The first thing you need to do is thank the Team Member for making a decision.  Then and only then, discuss how a better decision might have been achieved.

Motivate Subordinates to Excel

The notion that Patton merely drove his men to excel through fear and intimidation is a gross misinterpretation of both his motives and his methods.  Few contemporaries understood as well as Patton how to motivate and get the most out of the American Soldiers.  His leadership philosophy regarding this point is best summed up in his characteristically blunt saying, “We herd sheep, we drive cattle, we lead people.  Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way.”

Remember, managers in the Make-You-Happy Management System are coaches, facilitators, cheerleaders, and nurturers of Champions; not cops, referees or nay-sayers.

L’audace, L’audace, Toujours L’audace!

Finding and adhering to a core belief, as Patton certainly did, will help guide leaders both professionally and personally.  One of Patton’s favorite French sayings, ” L’audace, l’audace, toujours l’audace!” translates to “audacity, audacity, always – audacity!”  Both military and business leaders would be well-advised to follow Patton’s guidance and never fear to act promptly and decisively on reasoned, calculated risks.

The Make-You-Happy Management System starts with your Company Vision which is the combination of your values and Beliefs.  Whatever those Values and Beliefs are it is critical that they are strong enough to carry you through tough decisions.  Often, when I have a hard time with a decision that answer is clear when I review our Company Vision.

Nine Things More Important Than Money by Jim Rohn

*Note from Keith:

I have been a huge fan of Jim Rohn’s for years.  When I think about the heavy-hitters when it comes to business and life success Jim Rohn always comes to mind along with Zig Ziglar, Dale Carnegie, Brian Tracy, Earl Nightingale, and Napoleon Hill.  Whenever I read or listen to Jim I get extremely motivated and feel as though I can take on the world, and that’s a great feeling!

 

Nine Things More Important Than Money

Jim Rohn

When starting any enterprise or business, whether it’s full time or part time, we all know the value of having plenty of capital (money).  But I bet we both know or at least have heard of people who started with no capital who went on to make fortunes.  How, you may ask?

Well, I believe there are actually some things that are more valuable than capital that can lead to your entrepreneurial success.  Let me give you the list.

Time

time is more valuable than capital.  The time you set aside not to be wasted, not to be given away.  Time you set aside to be invested in an enterprise that bring value to the marketplace with the hope of making a profit.  Now we have capital time.

How valuable is time?  Time properly invested is worth a fortune.  Time wasted can be devastation.  Time invested can perform miracles, so you invest your time.

Desperation

I have a friend Lydia, whose first major investment in her new enterprise was desperation.  She said, “My kids are hungry, I gotta make this work.  If this doesn’t work, what will I do?”  So she invested $1 in her enterprise selling a product she believed in.  the $1 was to buy a few fliers so she could make a sale at retail, collect the money and then buy the product wholesale to deliver back to the customer.

My friend Bill Bailey went to Chicago as a teenager after he got out of high school.  And the first job he got was a night janitor.  Someone said, “Bill, why would you settle for night janitor?”  He said, “Malnutrition.”  You work at whatever you can possibly get when you get hungry.  You go to work somewhere – night janitor, it doesn’t matter where it is.  Years later, Bill is a recipient of the Horatio Alger Award, rich and powerful and one of the great examples of life style that I know.  But his first job – night janitor.  Desperation can be a powerful incentive.  When you say – I must.

Determination

determination says I will.  First Lydia said, “I must find a customer.”  Desperation.  Second, she said, “I will find someone before this day is over.”  Sure enough, she found someone.  She said, “If it works once, it will work again.”  But then the next person said, “No.”  Now what must you invest?

Courage

Courage is more valuable than capital.  If you’ve only got $1 and a lot of courage, I’m telling you, you’ve got a good fortune ahead of you.  Courage in spite of the circumstances.  Humans can do the most incredible things no matter what happens.  Haven’t we heard those stories?  It’s humans.  You can’t sell humans short.  Courage in spite of, not because of, but in spite of.  Now once Lydia has made 3 or 4 sales and gotten going, here’s what now takes over.

Ambition

“Wow!  If I can sell 3, I can sell 33.  If I can sell 33, I can sell 103.”  Wow.  Lydia is no dazzled by her own dreams of the future.

Faith

now she begins to believe she’s got a good product.  This is probably a good company.  And she then starts to believe in herself.  Lydia, single mother, 2 kids, no job.  “My gosh, I’m going to pull it off!”  Her self-esteem starts to soar.  These are investments that are unmatched.  Money can’t touch it.  What if you had a million dollars and no faith?  You’d be poor.  You wouldn’t be rich.  Now here is the next one, the reason why she’s a millionaire today.

Ingenuity

Putting your brains to work.  Probably up until now, you’ve put about 1/10 of your brainpower to work.  What if you employed the other 9/10?   You can’t believe what can happen.  Huans can come up with the most intriguing things to do.  Ingenuity.  What’s ingenuity worth?  A fortune.  It is more valuable than money.  All you need is a $1 and plenty of ingenuity.  Figuring out a way to make it work, make it work, make it work.

Heart and Soul

what is a substitute for heart and soul?  It’s not money.  Money can’t buy heart and soul.  Heart and soul is more valuable than a million dollars.  A million dollars without heart and soul, you have no life.  You are ineffective.  But, heart and soul is like the unseen magic that moves people, moves people to buy, move people to make decisions, move people to act, moves people to respond.

Personality

You’ve just got to spruce up and sharpen up your own personality.  You’ve got plenty of personality.  Just get it developed to where it is effective every day, it’s effective no matter who you talk to – whether it’s a child or a business person – whether it’s a rich person or a poor person.  A unique personality that is at home anywhere.  My mentor Bill Bailey taught me, “You’ve got to learn to be just as comfortable, Mr. Rohn, whether it is in a little shack in Kentucky having a beer and watching the fights with Winfred, my old friend or in a Georgian mansion in Washington, DC as the Senator’s guest.”  Move with ease whether it is with the rich or whether it is with the poor.  And it makes no difference to you who is rich or who is poor.  A chance to have a unique relationship with whomever.  The kind of personality that’s comfortable.  The kind of personality that’s not bent out of shape.

And lastly, let’s not forget charisma and sophistication.  Charisma with a touch of humility.  This entire list is more valuable than money.  With one dollar and this list I just gave you, the world is yours.  It belongs to you, whatever piece of it you desire whatever development you wish for in your life.  I’ve given you the secret.  Capital.  The kind of capital that is more valuable than money and that can secure your future and fortune.  Remember that you lack not the resources.

Jim Rohn is considered to be America’s Foremost Business Philosopher.